The NBA has just had one of its craziest,
if not the craziest, offseasons ever
as several blockbuster signings and trades radically changed the landscape of
the league. As a result, there’s a
prevailing sense of parity in the NBA for the first time in years; there are now
a handful of teams that have a realistic shot at winning the title next season.
I don’t think anything close to
mindblowing will still happen in the remainder of the offseason. So, I would now like to rank here the biggest
offseason moves that happened, arranged from what I think is the least likely of
yielding a championship to the most likely…
New York Knicks Sign Kevin
Durant and Kyrie Irving Julius Randle, Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis, Wayne
Ellington, Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock, and Marcus Morris
WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
(takes deep breath)
...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help taking a jab at how
badly run the Knicks are. Now, onto the
real thing…
Boston Celtics Sign Kemba Walker
Meh. The Celtics should have instead handed the
keys of the team to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Houston Rockets Trade for Russell
Westbrook
It was apparent that, right after
the Rockets were kicked out of the 2019 playoffs by the Warriors sans Kevin
Durant, it was over between James Harden and Chris Paul. Unfortunately for the Rockets, Chris Paul’s
terrible contract made him nigh impossible to trade. However, Rockets GM Daryl Morey actually managed
to pull it off… by trading it for another bad contract.
Bringing Russell Westbrook in to
team up with James Harden is laughable, but on the other hand, the Rockets
never really had a choice. Nevertheless,
I’m genuinely excited to see these two stat-chasing ball-hogs sharing the court
next season. Who knows, maybe this
actually works, and Morey comes out smelling like a rose. Or it ends up being the dumpster fire I’m
expecting. Either way, it’s going to be
entertaining.
Utah Jazz Trade for Mike Conley
This is no superstar move, but it
honestly turned the Jazz into a legit blackhorse title contender. Conley has always been an underrated point
guard, and provided that he has not lost a lot of step from age yet, there’s
the promising possibility that he becomes the catalyst for Donovan Mitchell’s
superstar breakthrough. Add two-time DPOY
Rudy Gobert to the mix, and the Jazz is a team to watch out for next season.
Philadelphia 76ers Sign Al
Horford
Joel Embiid at center, Horford at
power forward, and Tobias Harris (whom they resigned) at small forward – this
frontcourt has the advantage of size, but it’s just too big and slow in the
modern NBA. Horford is at his best at
center (even though he prefers to be a power forward), while Harris is better
fitted at power forward. Unless either
Horford or Harris comes off the bench (which is unlikely; neither one would probably
be willing), this doesn’t make any whole sense to me… yet.
During the months leading toward
the offseason, the buzz was all about superstars Durant and Irving going to
the Knicks and making the team relevant again.
But the Knicks being the Knicks, they of course screwed up
(LOOOOOOOOOOOL). The Nets swept in out
of nowhere, and thus, became the New York City-based team that ended up with
Durant and Irving (and ex-Knick DeAndre Jordan to boot). With almost every
piece of their last season’s playoff roster still around, the addition of these
two superstars certainly made the Nets contenders in the next few seasons (but probably
not next season, as KD recuperates from his Achilles’ injury).
This move is obviously great for
the Nets. But I’m somewhat baffled why
Durant and Irving decided to team up. Didn’t
Durant leave OKC in the first place because he was unhappy playing with a
ball-dominant guard like Westbrook? But
now he’s teaming up with another ball-dominant guard in Kyrie. And didn’t Kyrie request to be traded from
the Cavs because he disliked playing second fiddle to an all-time great player
like LeBron James and wanted to be “The Man” of his own team? But now he’s once again jumping into the role
of second fiddle to another all-time great in Durant. Baffling, isn’t it?
Golden State Warriors Sign
D’Angelo Russell
Not wanting to lose Kevin Durant
for nothing to the Nets, the Warriors front office orchestrated a sign-and-trade
for the Nets’ own All-Star free agent D’Angelo Russell. Now, D-Lo fitting in with the Warriors’
system is an unknown. But it’s an intriguing unknown.
With Klay Thompson out for most
of next season due to the ACL injury he suffered in the Finals, D-Lo has to serve
as an “interim Splash Brother” for Stephen Curry. I’m honestly excited to see how that turns
out.
With KD gone, the Dubs are no
longer invincible. But the core of the team
that pulled off a 73-9 record a few seasons back is essentially intact (sans
Andre Iguodala, whom they unfortunately had to trade away to make cap room for
the D-Lo signing). And if coach Steve
Kerr makes something revolutionary out of a Steph-Klay-D-Lo combo (which I have
a gut feeling he will), then the Golden State Warriors are going to be as
dangerous and thrilling as ever.
LA Lakers Trade for Anthony Davis
I used to dream about Luke Walton
coaching a Laker team of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle,
Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance, Jr. into a
championship. Now, with the exception of
Kuz, all of those guys are gone – the last of them serving as the assets for
that inevitable Anthony Davis trade.
Other than AD, the Lakers also
acquired free agents Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Quinn Cook, Jared Dudley, and
DeMarcus Cousins, while re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ugh), Rajon Rondo,
JaVale McGee, and Alex Caruso of last season’s problematic roster. As a Laker fan for most of my life, I haven’t
seen a better Lakers roster in years. If
everything clicks – especially if Cousins comes back to form, Kuzma breaks
through, and LeBron James consistently controls the pace to allow the Lakers
dominate with their size advantage – this is a title-contending team that can
overcome/be stirred by the usual LeBron-generated drama that will surely happen
down the line. Nevertheless, I’m not
really that excited. Things have not
been going well for the Lakers for some time now, and I will only allow myself
to celebrate once the winning actually happens before my eyes.
LA Clippers Trade for Paul
George, Sign Kawhi Leonard
The Clippers were one of best
stories in the NBA last season. Despite
having no true star player, they qualified for the playoffs in the highly competitive
Western Conference and served as arguably the toughest opponents that the
Warriors faced on their way to their fifth straight conference title.
Almost all of the members of that tenacious Clippers squad are still around for the next season, and they will serve as a very solid supporting cast for their recently acquired superstars: reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and regular-season MVP runner-up Paul George – who are set to go down as the greatest duo of two-way players since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Thus, on paper, the Clippers are easily the title favorites.
Almost all of the members of that tenacious Clippers squad are still around for the next season, and they will serve as a very solid supporting cast for their recently acquired superstars: reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and regular-season MVP runner-up Paul George – who are set to go down as the greatest duo of two-way players since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Thus, on paper, the Clippers are easily the title favorites.
The Clippers’ perimeter defense alone
is going to be glorious! Good luck to opposing
teams trying to score over Kawhi, PG, and Patrick Beverley. And, of course, with Kawhi and PG at the
helm, plus timely boosts from the bench coming out of three-time Sixth Man of
the Year Lou Williams and Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Montrezl Harrell, the
Clippers will also have an easy time looking for multiple ways to score during
the span of a basketball game.
Several teams may have improved
this offseason, but the Clippers are the team to beat. Clearly, they’re going to be a nightmare for
the rest of the league.
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